Wimbledon to play on middle Sunday for 4th time in history

Dhaka- There will be 22,000 fans with fast fingers on the grounds at Wimbledon on Sunday.Because of a rainy first week, the All England Club was forced to schedule matches on the middle Sunday of the tournament for only the fourth time in its 139-year history.Organizers put tickets on sale online Saturday afternoon. A mere 27 minutes later, they were sold out.“It’s special for this tournament,” said Angelique Kerber, the Australian Open champion. “It’s actually special that they are playing tomorrow because it’s like a tradition here in Wimbledon.But, yeah, they have to.”The only other times there was play on the middle Sunday was in 1991, 1997 and 2004.Defending champion Serena Williams will be the marquee name on Centre Court, playing in the third round against Annika Beck of Germany.The top-seeded American was two matches from completing a calendar-year Grand Slam last year, losing in the U.S. Open semifinals after winning four straight major titles. Since then, she has lost in both the Australian Open and French Open finals.Another interesting match will feature Alexander Zverev, a rising star from Germany who beat Roger Federer on grass at the Wimbledon warmup tournament in Halle, Germany. He will take on 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon finalist, also on Centre Court.For Zverev, who had to finish his second-round match on Saturday, it will be his third straight day on court. Then there is the possibility of a fourth-round match on Monday if he advances.”Obviously it was tough and obviously playing a second round on Saturday still,” Zverev said. “I have to play tomorrow now. It’s not easy schedule.”Here are some other matches at Wimbledon on Sunday:KYRGIOS-LOPEZ: Nick Kyrgios and Feliciano Lopez will resume their third-round match after winning one set each. The prize for getting through on Sunday will be a fourth-round match against 2013 champion
Andy Murray on Monday, weather permitting.Kyrgios advanced to the quarterfinals at the All England Club two years ago when he made his debut, and reached the fourth round last year. The 34-year-old Lopez has been to the quarterfinals three times in his long career.AMERICAN WOMEN: There will be four American women trying Sunday to reach the fourth round.Besides Williams, CoCo Vandeweghe, Sloane Stephens and Julia Boserup will all be in action. Vandeweghe will face sixth-seeded Roberta Vinci, while Stephens takes on Svetlana Kuznetsova and Boserup faces Elena Vesnina.Two other American women, five-time champion Venus Williams and Madison Keys, have already advanced to the fourth round.”Rain is going to come,” Keys said, referring to the fickle British weather. “Fingers crossed there is less rain in the next couple of days.” (AP/UNB) –